Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks

Early history (1995–1999)

In June 1995, the University of Nebraska Omaha began talks with local hockey supporters on the feasibility of a varsity men's ice hockey program. Shortly thereafter, the school re-hired long-time Athletic Director Don Leahy. Leahy returned to the school after a ten-year absence to start the hockey program. On May 1, 1996, the university announced that they would add a varsity men's ice hockey team for the 1997–98 season. Although the school was a Division II team in all other sports, UNO joined Division I for ice hockey. Season tickets went on sale shortly thereafter. By May 16 of that year, the university capped season ticket sales at 6,389 just two weeks after the university announced the creation of the team. The Omaha City Council, encouraged by the support for the Mavericks, approved an ice sheet for the Omaha Civic Auditorium shortly thereafter.

On June 26, 1996, Leahy hired Mike Kemp to be the first Maverick hockey coach. Kemp had spent the previous 14 years as an assistant and head recruiter for the University of Wisconsin, helping them to nine NCAA tournament appearances and a national championship in 1990. It was a return to Omaha for Kemp, who was the head coach for UNO's club hockey team in its brief existence in 1975 and 1976. Kemp hired former NHL first round draft choice David Quinn as his top assistant and head recruiter, and set about recruiting a team for the 1997 season. They establish the school's first Division I men's ice hockey program, which began playing during the 1997–98 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season.

UNO played its first season as an Independent in 1997-98. On October 17, 1997, a sellout crowd at the Civic Auditorium saw the team for the first time in a 3–2 exhibition loss to the University of Manitoba. Despite a midseason ten-game losing streak, the Mavericks finished with an encouraging 12–18–3 record. The Mavericks earned a surprising sweep over traditional powerhouse Denver and a 4–3 road victory over Maine, a night after losing 11–0. The team sold out all 19 of their home games to finish second in the NCAA in attendance. Following UNO's first season, the Mavericks made the somewhat surprising decision to apply for membership to the Central Collegiate Hockey Association. Many expected the school to seek admission to the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, as the conference was a better geographic fit and included UNO's Division II North Central Conference rivals Minnesota State, North Dakota, and St. Cloud State. However, the school was intrigued by matchups against big-name foes like Michigan, Ohio State, and Notre Dame, and was accepted into the CCHA on June 24, 1998. UNO would become a full member of the conference starting with the 1999–2000 season. The Mavericks struggled in their second season as an independent, starting the season 2–18–0 en route to an 11–24–0 record. UNO won only one of seven games against future CCHA opponents, a 6–1 victory over Bowling Green. Despite the poor record, the school once again sold out all of its home games, finishing third in the NCAA in home attendance.

CCHA years (1999–2009)

UNO surprised many in the 1999–2000 season, its first in the CCHA. The team finished with a 10–12–6 record in the conference, good for seventh in the conference and a berth in the CCHA tournament. The Mavericks took the best-of-three first-round series at fourth-seeded Northern Michigan. In other first-round action, eighth-seeded Bowling Green upset Lake Superior State; the Falcons' victory meant that the Civic Auditorium would host a one-game playoff for the right to go to the CCHA Final Four. In front of a sellout raucous home crowd, the Mavericks won 3–1 in a game that became known in Maverick lore as simply "Tuesday Night". The Mavericks kept the Cinderella run alive at the Final Four, as they stunned^[] top-seeded Michigan 7–4 in front of a pro-Michigan crowd at Joe Louis Arena. UNO entered the tournament final against Michigan State one game away from qualifying for the NCAA Tournament in their first year as a CCHA member. After the teams entered the first intermission scoreless, the Spartans scored three goals over a 5:29 span in the second period to break the game open en route to a 6–0 victory.

On the heels of their surprising run at the 2000 CCHA Tournament, the Mavericks began the season ranked number 13 in the USCHO.com Poll and number 14 in the USA Today poll, the first time the Mavericks had been nationally ranked in their short history. The Mavericks hosted the Maverick Stampede for the first time that year, a four-team season opening tournament that has been held in each year since 2000. The UNO topped Niagara in the tournament before falling to 4th-ranked Boston College in the final. Perhaps as a result of heightened expectations,^[] the Mavericks struggled early in the season, falling to a season worst 6–8–0 at the end of November. The team eventually put things together, finishing with the school's first winning record at 24–15–3. After falling out of both polls by midseason, the Mavericks were ranked #13 in the final USCHO.com and USA Today polls, although they again came up just short of the then-12 team NCAA Tournament. The 24 victories are still a Maverick record for a single season. Sophomore David Brisson tallied 22 goals and 47 points, shattering the team record in both categories that he had set a year earlier (17, 32). Following the season, future NHLer Greg Zanon became the first Mav to be named an All-American, when the ACHA named him to their All-America Second Team.

The 2001–02 season was a mixture of success and disappointment for UNO. For the second consecutive year, UNO posted more than 20 wins, finishing 21–16–4. Zanon again was named second-team All-America; he was joined on the team by Jeff Hoggan, who topped Brisson's school record with 24 goals. However, the team again failed to qualify for the NCAA Tournament, a disappointment given that the team had been ranked as high as #5 in both major polls early in the season and returned its top four points scorers and future NHL goaltender Dan Ellis from the previous season's 24-win team.

The Mavericks were unable to build on the consecutive winning seasons in the following years. In 2002–03, the team was within striking distance of a third consecutive winning season before limping to a 13–22–5 record after going winless in their last eight games. The 2002–03 would be the last in which UNO was a full-time tenant of the Civic Auditorium after selling out all 131 games that they played in the arena. Following the season, they would move to the newly constructed 14,700-seat Qwest Center Omaha. The following season, 2003–04, was the Mavericks' worst to date, as a young UNO team finished last in the conference with an 8–26–5 record. Despite this, the Mavericks continued to draw fans; although the team was unable to sell out the new arena, they finished fourth in the NCAA in attendance. The Mavericks rebounded the following season to finish 19–16–4. The team was led by a promising set of young players. Sophomore Scott Parse tallied a team-high 49 points, and freshman Bill Thomas added 45 more. Following the season, Thomas was named CCHA Freshman of the Year and Kemp was named CCHA Coach of the Year, the first two major awards in the program's history.

The 2005–06 season was UNO's most successful to date. The team used a ten-game unbeaten streak in January and February to finish 20–12–6 to earn their first-ever berth in the NCAA Tournament. Parse set team records with 41 assists and 61 points and was UNO's first Hobey Baker Award finalist. Following the season, Parse became the first Maverick selected as a first-team All-American and Conference Player of the Year. Thomas scored a team-record 27 goals, combining with Parse to form the most potent first line in UNO history. The two helped the Mavericks to 141 goals, the most in the CCHA. The team struggled defensively after the previous year's goaltender Chris Holt signed with the New York Rangers in the offseason. Walk-on freshman Jerad Kaufmann – the third-string goalie at the beginning of the season – eventually laid claim to the job. UNO's inexperience eventually got the best of the team, as they were dominated by Boston University in a 9–2 loss in the first round of the NCAA tournament. The Terriers broke open a 1–1 game with a six-goal second period to end UNO's first NCAA Tournament appearance. Once again, the Mavericks could not build on their successes in the following seasons, as they finished in the middle of the pack each year in the conference. The squad finished two games over .500 in 2006–07, followed by finishing two games under .500 for the next two seasons. In 2008–09, the team started out 12–4–3 – the best start in school history – before collapsing down the stretch and winning only three of their last 21 games.

WCHA years (2010–2013)

The disappointing 2008–09 season led many to speculate about the future of the program. On April 29, 2009, UNO hired former University of Nebraska linebacker Trev Alberts as athletic director. Alberts immediately began overhauling the hockey program. Kemp had one year remaining on his contract as coach and had little chance for an extension following the team's failure to build on the success of the 2006 NCAA Tournament team. Not willing to let go of the only coach the program had ever had, Alberts promoted Kemp to Associate Athletic Director and placed him in charge of the hockey program. Shortly thereafter, Alberts made a huge splash by hiring former North Dakota coaching great Dean Blais as head coach. With Blais on board, observers quickly began speculating that UNO would join the WCHA. With the men's side of College Hockey America breaking up following the 2009–10 season, Bemidji State submitted an application to be the WCHA's 11th member. The WCHA made it clear that they would only consider expansion in even numbers; rumors circulated that the conference coveted UNO. Within ten days of Blais's hiring, speculation was put to rest as the WCHA announced on June 23 that UNO (along with Bemidji State) would join the league for the 2010–11 season. The Mavericks once again finished in the middle of the conference in their final season in the CCHA, although they did finish with 20 wins for only the third time in school history, with a 20–16–6 record. The team struggled early in the season before finishing strong in Blais's first season with the team, finishing the regular season 10–3–1 over their last fourteen games before being stopped by Ferris State in the CCHA playoffs.

UNO joined the WCHA as a full-time member starting with the 2010–11 season. The Mavericks started the season on a positive note, as they stunned Minnesota with a two-game sweep at Mariucci Arena in their first ever conference battle. UNO continued its hot start through the beginning of November by winning seven of their first eight games. The team was ranked #6 and #7 in the two major polls, their highest ranking since 2001. The Mavericks ended the regular season 3rd in the WCHA with a conference record of 17-9-2 and advanced to their first ever WCHA Tournament before being upset with a two-game sweep in the first round by 10th seeded Bemidji State. Despite the loss the Mavericks qualified for the 2011 NCAA Tournament ranked 14th in the National Pairwise rankings. UNO received a 3rd seed in the West Regional, located in St. Louis, Missouri and played 2nd seeded Michigan in the first round. The first period ended with UNO up 2-0 but the Wolverines rallied in the second period and both teams went scoreless in the third, sending the game to overtime. The Mavericks' season came to an end 2:35 into overtime after a shot off a faceoff by and rebound goal by Wolverine sophomore, Kevin Lynch, followed by a ten-minute review to confirm the goal.